Tampering _ yawn

The 49ers apparently stand accused of tampering with prospective free agents Lance Briggs and Justin Smith and the agent for cornerback Asante Samuel is talking openly of the interest in his client _ which of course can only be gauged by illegal contact with prospective employers.

No word on the Raiders, but if they’re not getting a head start, they’re behind the curve.

In the NFL, if you’re not tampering, you’re not trying.

Getting tampering out of the league will happen roughly around the time the NFL eliminates gambling among fans outside of Nevada.

It is virtually impossible to enforce, buried under an avalanche of nods, winks and coded communications.

The NFL scouting combine may as well be a tampering convention. Agents hold a meeting there every year, so most of them attend. Each team sends front office personnel.

They exchange messages on their Blackberrys and cell phones, setting up meetings in restaurants, hotel lobbies and hallways of the Indiana Convention Center, legitimately discussing the re-signing of players who are scheduled to become free agents this Friday.

It doesn’t stop there. How could it?

You’re there, you’re just talking, conjuring up “hypothetical” scenarios of what it would take to get Free Agent A to sign with Team B when the phones start ringing at 12:01 a.m.

Ever seen an NFL contract? I’ve gotten a look at a few, and there is no way free agency opens one minute and several hours later a star player signs on the dotted line.

The player signs because the contract has been talked about in advance _ with more than one team. The agent advises him to sign because he has already gauged the market.

It is a workshop for coaches as well. Being an assistant coach in the NFL means always looking out for your next gig. Given their tenuous existence, it’s the common sense move. John Czarnecki of Foxsports.com, besides advancing the popular theory that James Lofton could soon be the head coach of the Raiders, also noted, “It’s also no secret that current Oakland assistants Greg Knapp and Tom Rathman will be on Jim Mora’s 2009 Seattle coaching staff.”

Czarnecki neglected to mention the third man in that rumor _ offensive line coach Tom Cable.

It’s not a reach, by any means. Knapp and Cable were assistants with Jim Mora on Atlanta’s coaching staff, and Mora is in place to succeed Mike Holmgren as coach of the Seahawks next year. Rathman worked with Mora in San Francisco.

All three assistants have two-year contracts with Oakland and are in Lane Kiffin’s dwindling inner circle, with very real concerns about their future considering the embattled nature of the man who talked them in to coming to Oakland.

Coaches are forever assembling coaching staffs in their minds for the day they get a head coaching job. It isn’t difficult to envision Mora telling all three of these men after being deposed in Atlanta, “Next time I get a head coaching job, expect a call.”

Then sending smoke signals when it actually happens.

And that’s the thing about tampering. There may be smoke, but never enough of a fire to prove it ever happened.

Say what TW? Drink another cup of coffee, slap yourself a couple of times and then re-type post 548 so it makes sense!

FOX RULES…Bill O kicks butt!

just kidding, I watch MSNBC, CNN and Headline just as much as Fox…

Noshadowking

The first round of the draft this year looks pretty good and we have a lot of holes to fill even if we pick up a few key free agents. I would really like to see us trade next years 1st round pick for someone elses first rounder this year like Cleveland did last year if a quality player we covet is still there. I say this for two reasons. 1) We have been at the bottom of the barrel for a long time now and we need to get better quickly especially so J.Russ doesnt get plastered all over the field a la David Carr. 2) If we dont fill a lot of our holes we are going to be picking top 10 again and honestly how many top 10 contracts do the Raiders want to dish out within a 5 year span. Our team will be in cap hell if we keep up this pattern of mediocraty. Id like to know everyone elses opinions on this idea.

Trippin we are on the same page..
Jeanette was a Raiderette so you know whats up and yeah the specs are sweet.

M

Mistabrown, thanks.

La Milicia Negra

those guys i’m watching NFL with always stop talking when Pam Oliver is on the screen…

What was the name of the girl who had to expone her wedding due to 9/11 and the SuperBowl moving a week?

Yalls Trippin

LMN – You just aint knowing bout that Brown Suga…Your loss

Mista – where the hell did the James Jett comment come from anyway?? He was all speed, no hands, the exact opposite of a possession WR..I even looked up a definition for you:

They are receivers you are mostly used in the slot (Between the o-line and one of the primary receivers) and put over the middle where linebackers and safties get to. They aren’t considered fast in comparios to others, but have much more steady hands. Drop less passes, and, as I’ve noticed, are taller then most other receivers. Most are 5’9 – 6’0, possession receivers are many times 6’2 – 6’5

Dakota

Mista,

Rob Ryan once finished second to kobayashi in a veinerschnitzel eating contest in Denmark, didn’t he LMN?

Consider that Ryan is in the last year of his contract and that unless we make a huge turnaround on Defense, he´ll be gone.

With that in mind, maybe we should just focus on giving Russell some playmakers to grow with for the upcoming season, by drafting McFaddden and Andre Caldwell or the best WR available in round 2 we could accomplish that, throw in an OT in the 4th round as well.

As for the D, sign Kelly and we have 10 returning starters, get a couple of Free Agents at DT, Jenkins would be great or Rogers, but if they´re out of reach then just sign a Randy Starks or another less heralded player to fill Sapp´s spot, let Ryan ”fix”it.

If things go as most expect, the D will fail again, Ryan will be gone and we can go after defensive players in the 09 draft and FA period.

In the meantime, Russell and his new weapons develop their chemistry, take their lumps and get ready to produce big time in 09.

It´s in Kiffin´s best interest to develop a potent offense, Ryan was granted one last chance and while I´m sure Kiffin does not ”want” the defense to fail, he knows he won´t be blamed for it.

Rogers is gone to NYJ already in a kinky menage-trade with Den and NYJ.

Bob, If we don’t seriously address the D this year, we’ll pay for it miserably for years to come. It will shatter the morale of our keepers. Aso in his contract year, Howard and Morri still have the juice. Burgess…Not a good idea. We had enough juice with McCown in there last year to have a winning season! It was the D and the 150yd running games that ruined us in the 4th quater..Remember! 6 4th quarter leads blundered!!!